I cut & pasted a bit: Ronn! posted (from article): "....Other findings revolved around the distinction between what the researchers called intrinsically and extrinsically motivated religiousness. Intrinsic motivation means practicing religion for religion's sake -- praying, meditating and serving because of a sincere belief that doing so is correct. Extrinsically motivated people practice religion for social reasons -- they see church as a chance to build non-faith-based social networks or think, "This is what religion can do for me...."
--- Reggie Bautista <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > >Thank you Ronnn! Religion is a crutch. > Surprise!!! > > I replied: > > > Crutch? I believe the phrase you were looking > for is, "useful tool." > > Erik responded: > >A crutch is only a useful tool if part(s) of your > body is disabled. > > In depression, part of the normal chemical > processing of the brain *is* > disabled. One common category of drugs used to > treat depression is SSRIs > (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors)...<snip> > ...and SSRIs are a useful > chemical tool to reduce the amount of serotonin that > can be reabsorbed. > > The article said that religion is another useful > tool in fighting depression. I'm going to home in on that idea from another angle. To borrow from Chad's idea that "spirituality," which involves the experience of "numinous moments" (sorry, I forget who to credit with that phrase), is enabled by (a) specific gene(s), it may be that having these genes confers some protection from depression. We know that depression has a genetic component, with of course a large influence by environment/nurture; we also know that individuals with a high "connectivity factor," which in studies includes a supportive circle of family/friends, volunteerism, significant spiritual or religious activity, active social life etc., suffer less from depression. In an earlier post I linked "connectivity" with "spirituality," but I do not think they are ennabled by the same hypothetical (or theoretical, if you prefer - I'm not looking for a semantics brou-ha-ha here! ;} ) gene(s), although they might be in close proximity (on the actual chromosome), as they do seem to be linked, frequently. So what the article calls "intrinsically motivated religiousness" I'd guess involves the presence of 'spirituality' genes. BTW, I think the genetic component idea makes a lot of sense; just as someone who has red/green color blindness *cannot* experience those particular colors as most of us do, someone without the 'spirituality' gene(s) cannot experience 'numinous moments' (or maybe with enhancement i.e. drugs/fasting they can, at least a little), and someone without the 'connectedness' gene(s) cannot feel 'universal oneness.' Evidence for the huge effect of nurture (or rather, lack thereof) on 'connectivity' exists in the clinical syndrome of attachment disorder. Debbi Storm And Sunlight Outside My Window As I Write Maru __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
